OUGD503 Project Report by Josh Douglas

OUGD503 PROJECT REPORT

Josh Douglas

This publication is an insight into the projects and briefs I have undertaken over the course of the module. I have completed variety of briefs, from client and competition work to self initiated projects. The module has taught me allot about the design world, this book explains how I have got along.

CONTENTS COMPETITIONS Hellfire Beer Label 4-5 YCN Lego 6-7 Gem & Stone logo 8-9 MMZ Logo 10-11 Collaborative Churchill 12-13

CLIENTS Stag Do T- Shirt 14-15 Inizio Design Logo 16-17 Mountain Trike 18-19 N.A.D.S Branding 20-21

SELF INITIATED Psychedelic Screen Prints 22-23 Laser Cut Presents 24-25

HELLFIRE BEER LABEL BRIEF

WHAT I DID

This competition brief involved designing a beer label for the Leeds College of Arts Creative Network. The beer we had to design for was Leeds Breweries Hellfire Fiery Pale Ale Bitter. We were given the measurements of the label and also the Creative Networks logo and we had to come up with a design that attracts the

I researched into different beer labels to start with which gave me some ideas and inspiration. I ended up going with something quite obvious choosing the devil, but I thought it was something that would stand out and could allow for some interesting imagery. I decided to experiment with the negative space by adding the fiery goblet which holds the information.

right audience.

EVALUATION Overall the project went really well. I was able to manage my time efficiently and finish the brief in a day like intended. Even though I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win I was happy with how the design turned out. My illustration skills have improved from drawing out the design many times in order to perfect the shape of the goblet and devils. One thing that I did think was a bit of a problem was the fact that my design was quite detailed and on a smaller scale, the information and imagery will be hard to read and engage with. Its always good to get stuff printed out first to check the size and readability. One of the perks of this brief was heading to the shop to taste out the beer, that was a fun 15 minutes, and helped me get an idea of what I was actually designing for. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found that research is a big part of the design process as its important to see what else is out there.

YCN LEGO CAMPAIGN BRIEF

WHAT I DID

This competition brief involved creating a campaign that distinguishes Lego from all the other building block companies. They left the brief pretty open which meant there were many possible solutions to the problem. They wanted the message â&#x20AC;&#x153;inventing the future of the playâ&#x20AC;? to be an underlining theme of the campaign.

I decided the best option would be a TV advert to start with. I mocked up a digital version which I proposed would be a stop motion video. I decided to link this with a building competition which gives children all over the chance to get involved and win some awesome prizes. I planned to run the competition across different devices in order to make it as easy as possible to submit.

EVALUATION This project was a real tough one. I started off with allot of momentum and came up with loads of ideas. When it came to making the video I got really into it and spent around 30 hours producing the video using Lego Digital Designer and some screen capture software. I was able to link all the clips together after on Final Cut Pro. The video aspect of the project was really exciting. It was the first time I had done something like this so I was eager to carry on. But when the video was finished the project got put on the back burner due to over deadlines etc. When it came back round to finishing the project off it was hard to pick up momentum. I started designing the web side of things and went through about 3 different styles before I finally came up with something that suited the target audience and also was consistent. If anything this project has taught me to plan my time and keep going.

GEM&STONE LOGO DESIGN BRIEF

WHAT I DID

I came across this competition on Designcrowd.com. The name of the business is Stone and Gem. The name represents the fun, edgy, and trendy pieces (Stone), as well as the more expensive, glamorous, and elegant pieces (Gem). She wanted 2 types of font. And the name should be connected with an ampersand. She prefers sleek and modern logoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and wanted an icon like a fleur de lis.

After playing about with various diamond patterns I decided to create a diamond fleur de lis to incorporate into the logo. I used various different colours to create light and tone. I also used 2 different fonts connected with an ampersand in order to try and tick all the right boxes. I mocked up a business card and tag to send off too in order to give her an idea of how the branding would work across a few items.

EVALUATION This was quite a fun project to undertake, it took me around a day to do and allowed me to have a play with shapes and also get to grips with the shape builder tool on illustrator, which I discovered that day, I found this very useful when designing the logo. I also managed to keep within my personal time constraint which was a plus. The one thing I was not entirely happy with was the feedback I received from the client which was quite contradictory I thought. I am in the top 3 designs at the moment but the client wanted some changes making: She said : I like this, but I think the fleur de lis is too large. I also donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t love the colors. I would rather it be a black background and look more sleek and bold. Thanks! I was unsure how something could be both sleek and bold at the same time, but in an attempt to satisfy the client I reduced the size and just made the logo black & white. The brief taught me that clients generally have no design skills at all and do not actually know what looks best and what they are talking about but you have to sacrifice personal taste for a clients needs whether they are right or wrong.

MMZ LOGO DESIGN BRIEF

WHAT I DID

MMZ is a small startup company that has the mission to invest in other small companies helping them to achieve its goals not only with money mas also with management skills from the owners. They want to pass the image that they are fast, smart, innovative and more importantly that they help people to succeed. They also want to have the company name in the logo and the preferred colors are blue and green.

I set this as another day brief. I decided the best way to represent their company would be in a pyramid format, this represents hierarchy and structure. The small blue triangles represent the companies they invest in and the green ones at the top are MMZ, together they become a strong structure. The shape indicates growth and development whilst the colours represent money, success and growth.

EVALUATION This was another fun brief to knock out, it took me just over a day to perfect as I struggled initially with ideas. But was very happy when I came up with the triangle concept. I think this represents the companies line of work and also suggests all the right things about MMZ. I think one problem I found with the logo was incorporating the slogan into logo. I added this in at the top of the pyramid in the shape of the sun, This was to represent MMZ at the top of the structure shining in all their glory, but really the design is quite impractical as it is fairly hard to read when shrunk down on a smaller scale. But unfortunately I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win this competition, which was a bit of a shame but has shown me you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t win them all and along as you learn something during the process then it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a lost cause.

YCN CHURCHILL COLLABORATION BRIEF

WHAT I DID

The brief was set by Churchill Insurance, the problem they had was that the majority of children from the age of 11-18 didn’t have a clue who Winston Churchill was, so they set the challenge of making Churchill a recognizable face amongst the kids and to hopefully help them learn a bit about him. The brief was quite open and didn’t have an strict deliverables which meant we could be creative with our concepts.

Me and Mikey decided to go with the Does your Grandad look like Winston Churchill Concept. We thought this was a good way of relating the kids as children of this age usually have a pretty good relationship with their Grandad. The concept is simple and has the power to catch on with the right advertising. I was in charge of the promotion, crafting and the flyer.

EVALUATION This project was an exciting learning experience, I found I had the most fun just brainstorming ideas together. We seemed to keep bouncing ideas off each other, coming up with more and more ideas, but it was choosing just one which was the hard part as we had so many doable concepts. We split the roles up within the project, Mikey looked into the app design, and I looked into the promotion side of things. This was quite fun as I need to think of interesting ways to grab kids attention. I thought the use of projections and graffiti would be a good way of drawing attention. I also enjoyed making the flyer. It took a fair few attempts at getting the cut out Winston the right size and shape, but trial and error prevailed. I will definitely craft more things from now on. As a pair me and Mikey worked really well together, we had no fall outs and got everything finished prior to the deadline. All though there was a last minute rush our time management wasn’t completely terrible. The fact there were 2 of us working on the project helped to keep the ball rolling. We were there to encourage each other and help out when needed.

out cut rea a e whit

use the tabs to stick the boxes together glue each tab according to the side it matches up to

cut round the edges of each of the nets

cut round the arms then fold & stick them together cut through the white lines

out cut rea ea whit

when the arms have been assembled, slot them into the arm slits on the body

stick the 2 hat rims together so that black is showing on either side. Then slot the tabs into the slits on winstons head.

STAG DO T-SHIRT BRIEF

WHAT I DID

A friend of mine wanted a full T-shirt design for his brother Ben’s Stag Do. They went away to Riga in December 2012 for a lads holiday weekend. There will be lots of gorgeous women, booze and crazy shenanigans over the course of the weekend. They have a limo full of strippers lined up for Ben on arrival, where they will be taken on a shoot for the day. He wanted a humorous T- shirt that included as many aspects of the weekend included as possible.

I envisaged a Stag pissed out of his head that had managed to collect loads of random shit on his antlers throughout the night which tells a bit of a story. So I tried to recreate that in an illustration, which I believe is quite humorous and also paints the picture of the weekend ahead.

EVALUATION This was a quick and fun brief to do, it didn’t involve much thinking really as it was something I pictured immediately. It was nice to create something that was mainly image based as illustration is something I like to do in my spare time. I drew out the idea by hand first and then scanned it in and digitalized it. It was nice to see the end product printed to a good standard. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of all the lads in them as they managed to lose the camera on the trip. This was also my first T-shirt design and I am happy with the end product its funny and is completely different to your traditional tacky stag do shirts.

INIZIO DESIGN LOGO BRIEF

WHAT I DID

I was approached by one of my friends who set up a web design/developing company around a year ago, Recently business couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be better and he has asked me to produce both a badge logo and type based logo for the company named inizio design.

I decided to play about with the Initials of the company I & D. I found these letters were quite fun to experiment with. From researching Online I found that most web designers/Developers use blue in the Logos. I have decided to follow suit here as this gives the logo more of a chance of been recognized as a web company. The logo slowly changed and progressed and has resulted in a smart logo that has reference to the computer industry.

EVALUATION This project has been fun and quite relaxed, I have not had a deadline to work to as it is going to be an ongoing thing. Next he is wanting a logo for his hosting company which will run along side inizio design. He has also asked me to help with his website when we are next both free. This has also taught me the importance of a good logo, many web designers and developers logoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s were terrible, they said nothing about the line of work they were in and looked quite tacky. It is important to create something that is simple memorable and speaks for its self. Another thing this module has taught me is its not what you know its who you know. Networking is really important because its the easiest and simplest way of getting work.

MOUNTAIN TRIKE LEAFLET COLLAB BRIEF

WHAT I DID

Me and Emily were set the challenge of re-designing a leaflet for Mountain Trike. The existing version was very dated and did not get across the image that mountain trike wanted to portray. The brief was given to us by Brandfuel as an experiment to see how students work compared to their design teams response to the brief.

Me and Emily worked really closely on the brief, we both researched design styles we liked and then each tested out different aspects along the way. We helped each other with design decisions and each produced a few designs to send off, we sent our designs off around 3 times getting feedback each time in order to make corrections until they were happy with the final outcome.

EVALUATION This project was very helpful, it taught us how to work under pressure and respond to a clients feedback. We had to throw away personal taste and work to the clients demands. I found it very useful working in a pair as idea generation seemed to come allot easier with each other to bounce back on. The project was a hug success and in the end Mountain Trike chose mine and Emilyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design over Brand Fuels Design team. Mountain Trike emailed us saying we captured the very essence of mountain trike, they loved the playfulness of the design and how it was allot more visually exciting than the others they had seen. We were both over the moon with this news and have been offered the chance to come test out these bad boy off road wheel chairs. One thing we had a problem with was the fact we were working in Leeds and the Events company we were working for was in London, which meant we had quite a bit of trouble sending large files to the design team which set us back a few hours. But we finally managed to resize the files and get them sent off.

N.A.D.S BRANDING BRIEF

WHAT I DID

I was approached by a client who was just setting up an auto motive detailing service company. He wanted a logo designing. He specializes in thorough car cleaning and servicing right down to taking it to bits. He wanted something that stood out but also something that represented the line of work he was in. On top of this he wanted business cards, product stickers and a vinyl.

EVALUATION I found this project quite fun and learned quite a bit along the way. This was the first time I had been in contact with the printers. Although it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a huge task to get some business cards printed I still managed to get something wrong. After an email I was able to add the bleed and crop marks I had initially forgotten and hey presto. It was nice to see the branding carry across a variety of different products. Since carrying out the work I have been asked to produce a pricing flyer and a custom laser cut stand to match. I was fairly lucky that the client was happy with my logo designs and I only had to make a couple of minor changes before he was completely satisfied. I am looking forward to finishing off the project.

PSYCHEDELIC SCREEN PRINTS BRIEF

WHAT I DID

As a personal project I wanted to experiment with screen printing. I have not had the chance or time to do any personal projects yet. So I decided to take my inspiration from festivals and nights out which are decorated heavily with psychedelic UV wall hangings and trippy art-work in order to make a print of my own. The project is based around woodland critters.

In order to stick with the psychedelic theme I wanted to create a mushroom forest, I started to think about all the creatures that could be affected by eating these wild hallucinogenic mushrooms in nature. I wanted to create an illustration showing little woodland critters off there nut. I took inspiration from festivals set ups, where they have giant mushrooms and creepy animals etc. I decided to go with spiders, lizards, frogs, hedgehogs and mice.

EVALUATION This was a really fun brief start to finish and I am extremely happy with the outcome. I thought I was being ambitious trying out a 5 colour print straight away but the end result says it all. My screen printing skills increased loads of the 2 days I was in the studio. I got quite allot of stuff wrong to start with but I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it ever again now! My illustration skills were also put to the test with this brief. I managed to finish the A2 sketch over the space of about 6 hours...ish. I used 2 different weight pens in order to add axtra detail. Once I had drawn it out I scanned it onto my mac and added the colour. The hard part was converting the image into its screen layers. After speaking to a technician I was able to convert each colour layer into black ready to be exposed. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really happy with the final outcome and have learned allot.

LASER CUT PRESENTS BRIEF

WHAT I DID

As a way of building my laser cutting skills and also saving some money on Christmas presents, I decided to make some Laser cut presents, for my friends and family. And this also gave me an excuse to get to grips with the laser cutter and also experiment with different nets. I planned to make around 12 presents, Decorated boxes, candle holders and incense boxes.

EVALUATION I found this project really helpful, I got to grips with the laser cutter and also tried out some new settings that I had not used before like the engrave feature. I made a few mistakes along the way which has lead me to always do test models first rather than going straight to cutting them all out at once! Something went wrong when creating each of the presents but luckily MDF is cheap so I was able to correct a few of the errors. Overall the project helped me improve my laser cutting skills and also taught me the importance of testing and trial and error. It has been a both fun and beneficial project and I look forward to playing with the cutter some more and whipping out some crazy cut creations.